International Tobacco Control

Global tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke continue to be perplexing public health problems. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco kills nearly six million people annually. Almost half of children regularly breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, and in 2004, children accounted for 31% of the deaths attributable to secondhand smoke. Unless urgent action is taken, the annual death toll could rise to more than eight million by 2030.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence seeks to address child health issues in tobacco control across the globe— bringing pediatric voices to tobacco control policy discussions, and engaging international pediatric associations in helping their members become clinical and policy advocates. In collaboration with the World Health Organization and International Pediatrics Association, the AAP Richmond Center continues to explore opportunities to improve global tobacco control and child health issues through education and training. This page includes:

Global Initiatives

In August 2013, the American Academy of Pediatrics, in collaboration with the World Health Organization's Tobacco Free Initiative and International Pediatrics Association hosted a pre-congress session at the International Congress of Pediatrics (ICP) in Melbourne, Australia. The daylong program of keynote lectures, panel presentations, and breakout sessions, addressed how pediatricians are natural advocates for tobacco control.

In November 2012, the AAP Richmond Center, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), partnered with the Latin American Association of Pediatrics (ALAPE) to offer a pre-congress workshop on tobacco control at ALAPE’s fall meeting. The day-long training sought to advance tobacco control advocacy by pediatric leaders and provide attendees with the knowledge and tools to promote efforts to protect children and youth from tobacco. Similar to past leadership workshops, participants wrote clinical and advocacy goals for their respective countries and received tobacco control resources to begin actualizing said goals. A total of 45 pediatricians from 12 countries attended the training which combined lecture and small group breakout sessions.

In September 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics collaborated with the World Health Organization– Western Pacific Regional Office to host Protecting Children and Families from Tobacco: Leadership Training at the 14th Asia Pacific Congress of Pediatrics in Kuching, Malaysia. A total of 26 participants and 10 faculty members, representing 13 countries from the region, attended the daylong training. During the program, participants developed tobacco prevention and control advocacy plans, committed to the next step in implementing these plans, and received country-specific resources. The training, which brought together pediatricians, pediatric society presidents, and non-clinical tobacco control specialists, provided an opportunity to network with others who are interested in policy, system, and environmental changes leading to more effective tobacco prevention and control efforts for children and youth.

The meeting, the first international Visiting Lectureship funded by the AAP Richmond Center, took place in February 2010. Training activities focused on increasing clinicians' awareness of the impact of tobacco smoke exposure on children, and on promoting and reinforcing the development of tobacco control curricula in schools and pediatric training programs.

Session of the United Nations Ad Hoc Interagency Task Force on Tobacco Control, February 2010: AAP/International Pediatrics Association collaboration was one of eight non-governmental organizations invited to present at the session.

Resources by Country

The following sites have information for most countries, and may be helpful in identifying the extent of tobacco's reach in each country.

World Health Organization- Select a country, then look for the 'Risk Factors' section on that country's page- Tobacco is listed there.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids- This site has information for certain priority countries where tobacco use is especially common. Information on other countries can be obtained by using the site's search feature.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the lead US federal agency for comprehensive tobacco prevention and control, and CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health develops, conducts, and supports strategic efforts to protect the public’s health from the harmful effects of tobacco use. CDC is the WHO Collaborating Center for Global Tobacco Surveillance and the technical agency for the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS).

World No Tobacco Day

Each year, the World Health Organization sponsors World No Tobacco Day. See what the themes were for previous years, and what materials were created for those campaigns. Information for the coming year will be posted as soon as it's available.

The AAP Julius B. Richmond Center acknowledges the Academy’s Friends of Children Fund for its support of the Center’s international tobacco control outreach. Contributions to the Friends of Children Fund enable the AAP to support high priority activities, respond to emerging child health issues and continually generate new knowledge about the best way to care for children.